Trail Mix: No Ordinary Hunter
by Jacie V. Smith
Summary: The 'No Ordinary Hunter', a young, foolish, but brave and warm huntress with the aid of her Great Jaggi, Clair venture out and away from home to see the sights, meet others and discover more monsters. A coming of age story of a hunter whom thinks just a bit differently than most, she sets her sights on learning how monsters live, not how well their heads fit on the wall.


"The Greats….Great Jaggi, Great Baggi and Great Wroggi-" pursed purple lips came together to list the names of some very feared and ferocious monsters. "Great Jaggi: Large, lumbering, and famous for the 'Hip Check'. Great Baggi: Large like Jaggi, but stronger, blue instead of pink, large horned used as hammer. Great Wroggi: Large but thin like a salamander, bright orange skin, the pouch round its throat contains a toxin, lethal if not treated within 2 days. "Those same lips went to list the basic characteristics of said monsters. "Dangerous….not impossible to beat but not easy to kill either-…Yet...despite these characteristics…." the being looked over her shoulders, glancing back at the sets of yellow and black slit eyes that hid within the bush. "You have chosen not to kill me, but instead be by my side. " She looked back into the clearing in front of her. The ecosystem around her feet was of an icy, lush landscape, a barren land of glaciers and bitter cold winds. Very few creatures could successfully live in this icy world and reproduce fast enough to keep up even a meager population.

Rocks and small crystals of ice began to shiver on the surface of the frozen sea, creating a rhythm, a rattle like a snake's tail. A brisk wind whistled across the frozen surface, swirling and streaking before entering the ancient mountain that stood near. The frozen ground formed a sharp ring not some 20 m away, the ring became jagged and pushed inward creating a spray of icy shards that spread around a few foot area. The huntress withdrew her arms in front of her face, shielding herself from the icy blast as it came forth towards her. She was pushed back only a meager few feet but it was enough to make her heels graze the rustling leaves of the winter forest behind. The three reptilian beast that hid behind her let out hisses and low squeaks to the air, warning her of the rumbling beneath their feet. All three them came out from beneath the brush and spread out on the icy sea, sniffing about, attempting to locate their large prey. G. Wroggi stayed closer to The Hunter aiding by her side if she were to be attacked suddenly while Clair the investigated the ring that grew closer to the center eyeing it warily, in the background however, Jon the began knocking his head on the small ice blocks that stood close to the beach, breaking them and killing the hibernating Zamite inside.

Clair the stood back away from the circle in the ice, turning her head to gaze at it as it erupted from beneath, shattering the ice inside. She screeched as their massive prey leap out from below and threw her bottom first into the cloudy cold above, tossing her a near mile into the skies; their prey, the lumbering frog/shark hybrid known as a Zamtrimos climbed onto the ice sheet and looked up to the raptor as it fell back. Zamtrimos opened its maw wide, its tongue rolling out, by eating the raptor it would grow in size and strength, it would not miss a chance to eat such a large prey. Eating is what gave this beast its power, letting it evolve to larger, stronger forms, such a thing is devastating to the ecosystem. "Clair!" The Huntress began to run forth, but tripped on the icy ground, slipping and falling over the icy water, unintentionally sliding close to the mouth of the beast herself, she backed away as Clair fell from the skies. She felt her heart wretch in fear at the possibility of losing her one of her partners. The Hunter had one last split second idea to save Clair, she took her blades, held them up and stabbed them through the gums of the giant beast' maw; it reacted with rough aggression. The monster flipped over on its side, its sharp finned-tail hitting both the hunter and the , slamming them into the young brush that grew nearby on the beach.

The shark-like beast violently shook its great maw, gnashing its jaws together in hopes to relive itself of the blades inside, but it only ended up pushing them deeper, cold blood filled its mouth, the iron-lit liquid spilling from its lips, through its teeth and dripping to the ground. This distraction gave The Hunter and Clair a chance to recover. She rose to her feet and reached for her leather waist pouch, a useful bag made from Zamtrimos skin, her hands flicked around till she found what she desired. With a swift gulp she drank up half a mega potion before pouring the other half on Clair's fresh, cold and bleeding wounds. Clair rose to her clawed feet within seconds having recovered quickly; her reptilian eyes becoming wide and fierce once more. She nudged her hunter in thanks. The Hunter rubbed Clair's face, stroking the 's cheek bones tenderly; "Be careful. You really scared me." The lavender and yellow colored beast gave a little nod of her head, if one could call it that. Clair seemed to be acknowledging her hunter now. They both finally looked back towards the beast as it continued to gnash its mouth in blistering pain, throwing its head about and ramming it's body into nearby ice cliffs in attempt to shake off the blades, yet still the blade's sunk deeper into its gums, cutting flesh and releasing blood.

Jon the grew curious, he hadn't seen what had happened, he just knew his leaders were somewhat injured but for the most part, he'd been picking off the Zamtrimos' offspring, little carcasses of Zamite near his feet, blood coated his lips. He took a few steps forward, the dumb raptor getting closer. The hunter watched with wide eyes before calling out to her newest partner. "Jon! Get away from it! It's enraged!" she groaned, gritting her teeth. Clair took a step and roared out in the monster tongue used by bird wyverns. **"Get away from it you young fool! Do you wish to die?!"** Clair called to her underling, with a roar or two and a few chirps. Jon the now took notice of the scenario and backed away, fleeting to Clair and The Hunter. They were soon joined by their fellow whom still guarded their master. The Hunter noticed hot breath escaped the Wroggi's nostrils, the dark purple skin flared, the orange and purple raptor seemed restless. "You're enraged?..." the question seemed to go unanswered, partially at least.

 **"Yeah, can't you tell?"** Jon the glanced at his hunter from the side, looking to her, wondering as to why she was confused. **"She's always angsty when we get to colder areas, haven't you noticed this?"** The hunter gave Jon a confused look and simply petted his nose. _"There, there, I know you're upset, this will be over soon-"_ she didn't understand him, all she heard was grunts and growls from her pet. She looked back to the shark beast, " _Hopefully it'll kill itself…."_ She sighed. _"I can't even go near it without my blades."_ Indeed, The Hunter could not. Those blades were priceless, tool but at the same time were also killing machines. They were made from the skin and bone of Great Jaggi's and their offspring Jaggia; the blades were named 'Leader's Shotels' after the Jaggi species. Clair's head was supposed to have been the last material used to complete the set but a last minute find proved otherwise and she was spared. Afterward, the hunter agreed to rehabilitate the monster and release it. The latter didn't happen, clearly.

The Zamtrimos thrust it's head upwards to the sky and flipped up, ejecting the blades from its gums, the crimson painted blades flew towards the hunter and her raptors, landing with an absurd clink and leaking blood over the ice. The Hunter was quick to grab her blades, wrapping her gloved hands over the handles and pulling back. More blood sprayed from the shark beast's gums, like two small fountains it splashed blood over the ice, until the beast own paws dabbed and slipped in blood. After standing back up, it opened wide and released another great roaring, causing the hunting team to lower their heads and shield their ears once more. An audible break of the air could be heard, the Zamtrimos's gullet began to inflate and puff out, its gills spread thin against its skin, its throat pouch expanding and filling with air, ice and water till it was nearly five times the size of the monster itself. "The rage is broken!" The hunter yelled out, reached for a horn to her belt and blew it out loud, the sound echoing around the ice. In reaction the raptors' pupils shrunk, growing thin, they each stood straight, gaped their mouths and released their own blistering roars.

The combined roars of The Great's was enough to scare the giant frog beast, and as customary it rolled but rolled backward losing control of its own body movements. _"Moore! Megnus! Release the trap!"_ The Hunter ordered and crooked her neck a bit and leaned into the ice sheet before rolling to the side under the bellies of her raptors, getting a good view of behind the giant monster. She saw two small beings, felynes; her palico partners. They were giving her the cat's equivalent of a thumbs up. "Myewo! Meonster is no trouble with traps!" Moore yowled out before him and Megnus leapt and slid on their bellies to their hunter, the crackle of the trap ebbing from their fur as the Zamtrimos rolled and was caught in. Ripples of electricity flooded the monster's skin and bounced around the rubbery and blubber filled hide, shocking the beast nerves and paralyzing him right over the trap switch. It roared out in pain but could do no more than that. The Hunter once more blew the horn and the pupils of her raptors returned to their domestic size. _"Now!"_ she screamed and flipped forward, skating to their new kill. The palico warriors leap onto the back of the Wroggi and road on it as the raptors joined their master. Everyone threw themselves at the inflated throat pouch, biting, scratching, slicing and stabbing the beast's most vulnerable organ. And with that; POP! One last tail whack from Clair popped the weakest spot on the beast, air and cold ice and blood spewed out from the fatty hole, spraying the pink raptor and her underlings. With a last roar, the Zamtrios gave out, and rested easy, going limp, its eye lids blinking rapidly before finally glossing over gray.

The team whooped in triumph at their latest kill, happy to have the battle over and done with. "Alright…start carving, try to find its Frost Sac if possible. I need those to upgrade these babies to Cleaving Jaws." And with that, The Huntress, her palico partners and her pet Greats went about peeling apart the now dead monster, picking out skin, harvesting blood, organs, bones and other materials.


End file.
